Lanigan Bridge project expected to have big impact

Wednesday

Jul 16, 2014 at 12:29 PMJul 16, 2014 at 12:58 PM

KENNEBUNK — The replacement of the Mathew J. Lanigan Bridge is scheduled to start in late fall 2016 and could be a multi-year project, undoubtedly impacting the busy area connecting Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.

Jennifer Feals

KENNEBUNK — The replacement of the Mathew J. Lanigan Bridge is scheduled to start in late fall 2016 and could be a multi-year project, undoubtedly impacting the busy area connecting Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.

More than 50 community members, business owners, town officials and employees, and a state representative attended a preliminary public meeting held by the Maine Department of Transportation at Kennebunk High School Tuesday night to learn more about the upcoming project.

MDOT says the bridge – which connects Kennebunk's Lower Village and Kennebunkport's Dock Square and was constructed in 1933 – is “structurally deficient” and needs to be replaced. The estimated $2.5 million project will impact a busy area, filled with year-round businesses and throughout much of the year, tourist activity.

There are still many unknowns regarding the bridge replacement, but one thing is clear, residents and business owners said during the two-hour meeting: balancing a necessary project with the needs of the area is going to be tough.

“There's no doubt in my mind, this is going to be extremely difficult no matter what's done,” said Kennebunk Harbor Master Ray Billings.

Tim Merritt, project manager for Stantec, which is under a general contract with the MDOT to complete the bridge replacement, said the process is in the “design phase.”

“We're in the preliminary design phase, is what we call it. Really, it's information collection,” he said.

And those who attended Tuesday's meeting shared plenty of that, from the heavy pedestrian and vehicular use of the area from the spring to early winter, timing of the project, to the water flow, erosion and flooding.

The idea, Merritt said, is for non-tourist season construction and to maintain vehicular and pedestrian traffic during the replacement. There are currently two plans being explored to do that. One would be a detour around the bridge, likely around the current structure from Lower Village into Dock Square, while the other would be construction of a temporary causeway connecting to the rear of the town's Dock Square parking lot – which could mean the loss of some spaces.

“We obviously recognize that this is a unique site, particularly in the summer…We are aware of events, such as Prelude. We need to plan around those as well,” Merritt said. “Our intent is not to do this in the summer, maybe fall to spring, but that season is not long enough. There would be several seasons involved but it wouldn't be a continuous construction.”

Construction through the winter could impact events like Prelude, which was a concern for many Tuesday night.

“If I don't have Prelude, it's going to be tough,” said Bonnie Clement, a Kennebunk resident and owner of H.B. Provisions. “We are a tourist community. We get tax dollars that way and the state gets huge tax dollars during the summer through the sales tax. We need to be able to minimize the least path of resistance and figure out the best way.”Pedestrian and vehicular traffic, an hydraulic analysis, and the proximity of buildings to the bridge, will all play a factor in which temporary option is chosen as well as the design and construction of the new permanent bridge, Merritt said.

Whether or not the bridge – which is currently 88 feet long and 22 feet wide – could be widened to better accommodate vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic will also be explored, Merritt said.

While the bridge was at one point a “swing bridge,” Merritt said that has not been operated in years. After the replacement, the bridge will be a permanent structure and will not have that ability, he said.

Community members raised the idea of constructing portions of the bridge off-site to minimize impact, closing the bridge and using Durrell's Bridge Road as a connecting route, and constructing a permanent new bridge that could connect from Lower Village to the rear of the Dock Square parking lot – similar to the potential temporary bridge – and using the Mathew J. Lanigan Bridge as a pedestrian causeway.

Merritt said all options could be considered.

The preliminary design process will continue through early 2015, Merritt said, followed by a formal public meeting. Final design and permitting will continue through the spring of 2016 with construction beginning in late fall of 2016, he said.

Construction is anticipated to be a two to three “construction season project,” Merritt said.There will be plenty of opportunities for public input throughout the process, Merritt said, and in addition the towns of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport are forming an advisory committee – made up of community members, business owners and others – that will lend guidance on various aspects of the reconstruction and temporary bridge design.

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